West Linn police accused of racial harassment during arrest
Alex Juarez alleges officers harassed and humiliated him during December DUI arrest.
West Linn police have hired Portland attorney Michael Tom to look into allegations from a West Linn man who says he was racially harassed by police in December, according to Acting WLPD Chief Peter Mahuna.
The man, Alex Juarez, posted about the ordeal on Nextdoor in January and received a wide array of responses from neighbors.
WLPD contacted Juarez in early February and hired Tom, who specializes in workplace investigations, to look into the matter after learning about the social media discussion. Reached by the Tidings, Tom didn t answer any questions about the inquiry, saying he could not comment on an ongoing investigation.
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West Linn cop s blackface clown painting removed from school February 10 2021
The West Linn Police Department issued a statement that the painting has been removed; school district says it should never have been displayed.
A post in the West Linn Open Forum community Facebook group has sparked the removal of a velvet painting depicting a clown in blackface from a school resource officer s office wall at West Linn High School.
The officer, Jeff Halverson, said the painting was used as an icebreaker to make students more comfortable talking to a police officer. It s not something the kids are used to seeing a painting of a clown on a police officer s wall … Same thing with staff. Like, Why do you have a velvet painting of a clown? Why wouldn t I, you know? he said. It was a good icebreaker to make people more comfortable. They were talking to a police officer; some of them hadn t done that before.
Facebook post prompts West Linn cop to remove black velvet clown painting from his office at high school
Updated Feb 08, 2021;
Posted Feb 08, 2021
West Linn Police Officer Jeff Halverson, a school resource officer at West Linn High School, said he removed the black velvet clown face painting from his office, after a woman raised concerns about it on Facebook. “My office has to be an inclusive, welcoming place,” he told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
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depiction in a Facebook post that drew hundreds of responses.
Some people reacted by criticizing the concerns about the clown and blasting the woman who posted them for “shaming” the officer.
West Linn cop fired for wrongful arrest mulling lawsuit December 22 2020
Former West Linn Police Sgt. Tony Reeves was let go in June for conduct during Fesser case; no lawsuit filed yet.
Former West Linn Police Sgt. Tony Reeves issued a tort claim notice to the city of West Linn in October alleging he was wrongfully terminated from the city. No lawsuit from Reeves has been filed, though his attorney, Chris Mascal, said they had filed the tort notice to keep their options open. City is on notice that Reeves asserts that his termination was unfair, unprecedented and was merely asserted against him to shift blame and pacify the public regarding the bad press that the City received over Fesser s civil lawsuit(s), the tort notice reads.